Monument Valley Light
Tuesday was a very long day...
Lots of driving and waiting for weather to clear. We started the morning in Sante Fe, NM and drove to Window Rock, AZ to grab a few pictures and then made our way to Canyon de Chelley. After a couple of stops along the rim to get some panoramic photos, we continued on to Monument Valley, UT arriving around 4 pm. The light was filtering through clouds and offered an occasional splash of light on the mesas rising from the valley floor.
After grabbing some dinner at Gouldings Trade Post, my daughter Natasha and I faced the decision of waiting for sunset to see if the clouds would clear, or start the long 3.5 hour drive back to our hotel in Gallup, NM. After a lengthy discussion, I decided, much to my daughter's protest, that we would start heading back. I was tired and had already spent more than 7 hours behind the wheel of our rental. Natasha pulled on her headphones so that she could ignore me, and as I drove along the two lane road back into Arizona, I kept checking the rear view mirror for the light to change. And it did...
it was already to late to turn around and I questioned letting Natasha know of my poor decision. I finally nudged her knee and pointed to the mirror. This was met with a snarl and quick expression of frustration.
I drove on in silence watching the changing light as the clouds started to let the setting sun peak through. Long beams of light were spreading in front of us as we sped down the road. To my left I could see a dark mountain rising from the valley floor. It stood all alone with its rocky peak hundreds of feet about the ground, silhouetted against the dark clouds. As the road took a bend to the left I realized that the newest beam of light would hit this mountain head on, so i pressed down on the accelerator hoping to find a spot to pull over so i could try to make up for my earlier impatience. The road twisted as we headed towards the peak, not offering a place safe place to pull over. I sped even faster until I saw a small dirt road joining the highway right under the mountain. I slammed on the brakes and we bounced across the cattle guard, coming to a stop in a cloud of dust. Jumping out of the car I grabbed my camera and ran towards the mountain. Natasha yelled at me, "What am I supposed to do?" Switching back into parent mode, I told her to grab her camera, turn off the car, grab the keys and join me.
At the base of the mountain was an empty wood rail horse corral. It made the perfect subject with which to frame the mountain. The light started to spread up the peak as I framed several different shots and clicked away. Natasha grumbled, "We could be back at Monument Valley", to which I replied, "Yes, but everyone gets those pictures. No one shoots this one!"
The low light created some of the longest shadows I have ever seen and I fought to keep mine out of the frame. Just as the light was starting to move away, I framed the entrance to the corral, right under the mountain, and clicked off a few final frames.
Natasha was clicking away and followed me around watching how I framed each shot. As we turned to walk back to the car, she again expressed her unhappiness with our decision to leave early. I told her that I was tired and wanted to head back before it became unsafe to drive. I also reminded her that while many people were filming the sunset behind us, we were the only ones here, and that there is something exciting about sharing that experience with others in a photograph. Hopefully she will learn...
El Capitan, Monument Valley, AZ